About the Red River Valley Veterans Concert Band, Inc.

The Red River Valley Veterans Concert Band, Inc. (RRVVCB) holds an Internal Revenue Service Determination Letter of Nonprofit Status 501(C)(3). The band's fundamental mission is providing patriotism through music. "Mission" is a particularly good word to define the band's operations, as it travels to bring the concert to the audiences. Throughout the nine month season beginning each September, every Thursday evening the band either rehearses in Fargo or is "deployed" to perform either in the Fargo-Moorhead area or within about a 100-mile radius.

While patriotic music is included in every performance, the band's music is not limited to marches and anthems. Audiences hear Broadway show tunes, TV theme songs, big band swing, Dixieland, rock and roll, and even Latin music. The band often features vocalists from within the organization. Above all, an entertaining performance is the goal of the band.

The strength of the organization lies in its diversity. Membership is open to any musician at least 21 years old. About half the members of the band are military veterans or are currently serving in the National Guard. The other half consists of civilians who play for the love of the music and the desire to entertain area audiences. All are volunteers. Musicians range in age from 21 to 87, and the musical skills of each also range from amateur to professional. The band is proud to count among its numbers former area band directors as well as a clarinetist who played with big band leader Artie Shaw! The band welcomes even those who haven’t picked up an instrument for 20 years, and no audition is required.

The band currently schedules about 40 concerts per year. The band is on the road in the fall and spring to perform concerts outside of the FM area. During the 2004-2005 season, the band performed in the following cities: Detroit Lakes, MN; Fargo, ND; Fergus Falls, MN; Harwood, ND; Hillsboro, ND; Lisbon, ND; Moorhead, MN; Pelican Rapids, MN; Perham, MN; Valley City, ND; Wahpeton, ND; West Fargo, ND.

On these missions, the band often performs two concerts at two different venues in a single evening. The logistics of this are amazing, as the band "invades" the assigned retirement home, sets up a 30-50+ piece concert band with full percussion section, provides an hour of music, then tears down and travels to the sponsoring veteran’s club to repeat the process.

The band has limited use of the American Legion Post 2 (Fargo) baseball bus in the spring and fall, but has to pay some associated expenses. During the winter, performances are limited to the F-M metro area.

The RRVVCB is unique in that, while there are other community musical groups in the area, this band is the only one of this size that deploys to its audiences. This distinguishes the band in some very important ways. First, they reach audiences who are unlikely to travel to a concert hall somewhere. Second, the payoff to the musicians is to be guaranteed a grateful audience with virtually every performance, which is gratifying to the musicians. Thirdly, the band knows of no other (non-military) musical organization in this area with the primary mission of promoting patriotism.

For the last five years, the band has been invited to perform at Probstfield (2001-2004) and now Rinertson (2005) School in Moorhead for their annual celebration of patriotism. Many band members take the morning off work to entertain and promote patriotism to hundreds of elementary school children, many of whom are new Americans.

Another special day is Veterans Day. Every November 11, the band performs four concerts paying tribute to veterans. After a ceremony beginning at 11:00am at the Fargo Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the band performs afternoon concerts at the Fargo and then the Moorhead American Legion, and concludes the evening with a concert at the West Fargo VFW.

The band also annually provides the music for the Memorial Day prayer services at Riverside Cemetery in Fargo. Hundreds of people attend this service, which routinely has guest speakers from North Dakota's Congressional delegation.